A Few Player Rumors…

Every off season, there are always rumors abound about players joining and leaving programs, but it’s rare that any are substantiated.

So two within a few days of each other? That’s almost catastrophic.

You may remember in my post Friday about Cooper leaving for Miami (Ohio) I suggested that Tennessee State perform a speedy search for a new candidate. Here’s why:

If Cyphers transfers, he will have a college career spanning 3 schools, which is somewhat odd. (He started at Utah before transferring to TSU) Cyphers averaged less than 20 minutes a game this past season, but still put in 8 points a game, and was a solid 3-point threat beside Covington. It’s not a program killer transfer, but losses could pile up in a hurry.

As far as rumors go, this is likely about as solid as it gets.

As far as the Racers goes, there’s a rumor that may, or may not have an effect on the Racers, which 99% of the time wouldn’t warrant a post, but giving the caliber of the player involved, it’s likely worth noting, although I wouldn’t put too much stock on this one yet.

First, the rumor, and it’s shaky at best. NBC Sports is reporting that freshman point guard Anthony Hickey of LSU could be on the way out, because of Trent Johnson’s expected departure as coach. Except, there’s no substantial reason given why he might transfer, only that he in fact, might. So you first have to believe that he will, or this goes nowhere.

So then, where does Hickey go? Since Hickey was Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball, playing for Christian County High School, (a school probably close to midway between Murray and Bowling Green Kentucky) two somewhat obvious schools stated in the article are the two closes programs, Murray State and Western Kentucky.

But even this is if you believe the unsubstantiated claim that Hickey would want to move closer to his family.

And then, they make the argument that Hickey might end up at Louisville, essentially because he’s too talented to land at a low/mid-major program.

So this one is a stretch at best. 15:1 odds might be considered overly kind, but it where I’ll put the line for now that Hickey would end up at Murray. Because if he leaves, and if he wants to return home, Murray will be graduating a likely NBA point guard next season, meaning when Hickey became eligible, there would be a great hole to fill on a team with a coach (assuming Prohm stays this long…) that just sent a point guard to the NBA.

There’s also this.

Locke is talking about Mississippi State freshman Rodney Hood, who has confirmed he’s joining, well, most of his teammates in leaving the Bulldogs. There’s no real word on where he might end up, but Locke felt the need to mention about his dad’s transfer. Something tells me Rodney’s dad will be mentioning Murray State to him.

Too early to consider this too serious. I put the odds actually a little worse than Hickey, at 20:1.